N.Y. Times changes lede of Wildstein story

1/31/14 6:16 PM EST

The New York Times changed the lede of its explosive story about former New York Port Authority official David Wildstein on Friday. Whereas the original story stated that Wildstein has the evidence to prove Gov. Chris Christie knew about the George Washington Bridge lane closings when they were happening, the new version has Wildstein saying "evidence exists."

The original story lede reads:

"The Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings on the George Washington Bridge in the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey said on Friday that the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening, and that he had the evidence to prove it."

The edited version reads:

"The former Port Authority official who personally oversaw the lane closings at the George Washington Bridge, central to the scandal now swirling around Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey, said on Friday that “evidence exists” the governor knew about the lane closings when they were happening.

This seemingly minor change carries a big difference in meaning. The original lede reads as though Wildstein is saying he specifically has evidence that links Christie to knowing about the bridge lane closures. The second lede suggests only that "evidence exists," not that Wildstein necessarily has it. No note has been added to the article.

Many reporters took to Twitter to note the change and lack of an editor's note. Times spokeswoman Danielle Rhoades Ha said in an email that the paper regularly edits breaking news stories and "only note changes if the edit involved a correction." Times metro editor Wendell Jamieson told the Huffington Post's Michael Calderone that they've "made probably dozens of changes to the story to make it more precise. That was one of them. I bet there will be dozens more."